College Offers Two New Doctoral Programs
As part of its mission to promote the health of individuals and communities with a special emphasis on diverse populations and the Southwest, The University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health is offering two new doctoral programs in public health, accepting students beginning in the fall 2007 semester. The programs were approved by the Arizona Board of Regents at their meeting Jan. 25.

The new degree offerings are a doctorate degree (PhD) in Biostatistics and a professional doctorate degree in Public Health (DrPH). The DrPH degree will offer two concentrations, one in Public Health Policy and Management and another in Maternal and Child Health. More...

Rural Health Office Receives $530K Flex Grant
The Rural Health Office at the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health has been awarded the Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Grant for the seventh consecutive year by the Office of Rural Health Policy at the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The $530,000 grant will enable the Rural Health Office to assist 13 small rural hospitals in Arizona, which are designated Critical Access Hospitals (CAH). The funds will go toward supporting the planning and implementation of health information technology among these hospitals, training opportunities for CAH personnel, and improvement of an online pilot project among emergency medical services (EMS) systems in critical access geographic areas. More...

Gabrielle Giffords to Speak on 'Veterans and Public Health' at Partners in Public Health Luncheon, April 12
U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords will speak about "Veterans and Public Health: Caring for Our Heroes in the 21st Century" at the annual Partners in Public Health luncheon, set for Thursday, April 12, at the Arizona Inn, Tucson Room, 2200 East Elm Street, Tucson, Ariz.

A third generation Arizonan and the youngest woman ever elected to the Arizona State Senate, Giffords represented her hometown of Tucson in the Arizona Legislature from 2000-2005. During her service in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, Giffords worked on legislation to expand health care coverage for Arizona families; to create and attract high wage jobs to Arizona; and to protect Arizona's environment and open spaces. She served on the Appropriations, Commerce and Economic Development and Finance Committees. In November 2006, she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's 8th District.

As former President and Chief Executive Officer of El Campo Tire, Inc., Giffords was able to utilize her experience as a small businesswoman with a broad background in national and international economic development. A 1996 graduate of Cornell University with a master's degree in Regional Planning, she also is a graduate of Scripps College where she was awarded a William Fulbright Scholarship to study for a year in Chihuahua, Mexico. Between her undergraduate work and her masters she worked as a researcher in San Diego studying the effects of Operation Gatekeeper II on the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

For more information about the Partners in Public Health luncheon or to register, please contact Donna Knight, Office of Development, UA Zuckerman College of Public Health, at (520) 626-2948 or knight@coph.arizona.edu.

Mini Grants Awarded to Improve Health of Residents in Arizona Border Communities
Nine Healthy Border 2010 mini-grants (ranging from $5,000 to $10,000) have been awarded to communities along the U.S.-Mexico border to address needs that include access to health care, cancer prevention, diabetes intervention and education, increased immunizations, and increased infectious disease reporting.

The UA Zuckerman College of Public Health, in collaboration with the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission Arizona Outreach Office and the Arizona Department of Health Services, Office of Border Health, has made these border health mini-grants available to the Arizona-Sonora region. The grants, totaling about $70,000, aid community health centers and county health departments to increase the wellness in their area based on the Healthy Border 2010 objectives. These objectives are based on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2010 model, which are a set of health objectives for the United States. More...